Hyaluronan (HA) is a ubiquitous, highly conserved macromolecule found in numerous species and present in almost every tissue in the body. HA has a long-standing history of use in numerous commercial applications including cosmetics, wound repair, drug delivery, and select biomedical engineering applications (e.g., cell-seeded hydrogels and scaffolds, osteochondral defect repairs). While its biocompatibility and bioactive properties make it an attractive biomaterial, its mechanical properties are insufficient for load-bearing applications. Attempts to improve mechanical properties have included various crosslinking methodologies, but commercially-available crosslinked HA hydrogels are still orders of magnitude weaker than required for many load-bearing biomedical applications. Therefore, there is a need for hydrogels that have suitable mechanical, biocompatibility, and bioactive properties.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.